From Hindi telly to God’s Own Country

Years ago, we had welcomed Mahabharat-fame Nitish Bharadwaj through Padmarajan’s Njan Gandharvan, but he did not have successors for a long time. But not anymore. Endowed with killer looks and mass appeal even in the South through their mini screen persona, many telly actors from the North are all set to make their presence felt in Mollywood, of late.And many of them have been bagging meaty roles, often opposite top actors.
Pallavi
Ask who her heroes were in the first two films she did in Mollywood and it will be clear that the industry has taken her quite seriously right from the beginning. The actress, who was a familiar face on Hindi telly, was cast opposite Mammootty in her first film Silence and Mohanlal in her second movie Mr Fraud.
Before she forayed into Malayalam films, Pallavi was a familiar figure in Hindi serials and donned prominent roles in various soaps such as Sapnom Se Bhare Naina, Kasam Se, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Madhubala. Pallavi had also won the Indian Telly Award for the best supporting actress last year, for playing Padmini Shamsher Malik in Madhubala. The actress has also been paired with Mithun Chakraborthy in Subhash Ghai’s recently released Bollywood film Kaanchi.
Priyal Gor
For her fans, she is more popular as Moniya of the serial Dekha Ek Khwaab, in which she plays a 19-year-old girl who dreams of being a princess and eventually finds out that she is actually one. Priyal, who has been cast alongside Isha Talwar in the upcoming Mollywood movie God Bless You, has been a busy television actress since her teenage days.
Priyal has also bagged awards for her performance in Zee TV’s Ram Milaye Jodi and was one of the Indian contestants of the show Madventures in Pakistan, the Pakistani adaptation of Fear Factor. Some of her other serials are Baat Hamari Pakki Hai, Ammaji Ki Galli and Ishq Kills.
Ragini Nandwani
Ragini has clinched a dream debut in Mollywood opposite none other than Mohanlal; she plays the female lead in Arun Vaidhyanathan’s Peruchazhi. She has been a familiar face up North, thanks to her lead roles in the Hindi soap opera Mrs Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein. The actress, who has also won a handful of awards for playing Lovely Karthik Kaushik in the serial, also has a Bollywood film titled Dehraadun Diary to her credit. Ragini’s other works on TV are Yeh Meri Life Hai andThodi Khushi, Thodi Ghum.
Ragini has also launched herself in Kollywood through the recent Vijay-Amala Paul starrer Thalaiva.
Isha Talwar
Few would know that Mollywood’s favourite Ummachi Kutti has a Hindi soap opera past, in addition to being the face of many popular commercials, before she was roped in by Vineeth Sreenivasan for Thattathin Marayathu. Isha acted in the Hindi serial Rishtey, a few years ago. However, most people remember her as the pretty girl who shook a leg with Hrithik Roshan for Star Plus’s reality show Just Dance!
Yami Gautam
The Vicky Donor girl, who was paired with Prithviraj in the Malayalam film Hero, was also part of quite a few Hindi soaps like Chaand Ke Paar Chalo and Rajkumar Aaryn, since 2008. Her portrayal of Leher Mathur in the drama Ye Pyar Na Hoga Kam is what made her a household name in the world of Hindi soaps. She has also taken part in various TV reality shows like Meethi Choori No.1, before launching herself in the big league.